When i was loggin i only used husqvarna professional chainsaws. I never lost a day of work because of a chainsaw not running. But they are very expensive for the pro models but the overall quality is a lot higher over the cheaper saws. The cylinders are chrome lined and they run at a higher rpm which allows them to cut faster. But you need to keep the saw chain razor sharp all the time.

My point is i'm looking for a smaller chain saw to cut brush with and something cheap incase it falls out of a tree when my son climbs up to cut limbs.

There are a lot of refurbs being offered right now. I see the Blue Max chain saw at a very affordable cost too. Then there are the homelites, the poulan's and some ort of chainsaw from china too.

Does anyone have any experiece with the blue max chain saw???

I'm technically misunderstood at times i guess its been this way my whole life so why should it change now.

Dad cuts wood year round, he has an outside stove/furnace. We've got the big Husqy 455 "farm" model w/20" bar and Stihl MS-261 w/18" bar. I personally like the Stihl better... The Stihl definitely runs longer, don't know if the tank is bigger or not. A log of the logging companies around here use Shindawa (sp?) but I think they got bought out by Echo.

Bill,Been doing some research for over a year and am getting ready to "pull the trigger" on a new saw - Husqvarna 346XP.I've owned a Husqvarna 141 w/16" Bar for about 9 years that has been a great saw. It is under powered when cutting anything over 12" diameter so I've wanted a bigger saw for that work, keeping the 141 for limbing and smaller stuff. It's a good saw for the boys to learn on too.Peter

BigBill wrote:Does anyone have any experiece with the blue max chain saw???

I guess I will bring this back around to your question. I'm sure by now you have done your homework and you know Stihl is the best bet, but you are wanting info on the Blue Max. I can't help you with that but I have heard of them, however I have only seen them listed on line. Have you seen them in stores anywhere? Is there a dealer near you who carries them? If so, the best thing to do is check it out and ask the dealer a lot of questions. If you are buying one sight unseen from the internet then I would be leery of what you get.

It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.- Franklin D. Roosevelt -

I have owed my Husqvarna 450E saw for a few years. I run it side by side with a Stihl 290 that my buddy owns we traded saws for 1 tank of fuel. When we were finished he wouldn't give me back my saw until we were done for the day. I will admit that the Husky runs at least 300-400 more RPMs than the Stihl.

Right now i have one husqvarna 385XP & up to 24'' to 36'' bars, two husqvarna 575 XP's with 20'', 28'' / 32'' bars and one 353 with an 18'' bar. These are all just a few years old. I'd like to get something cheap, very cheap to beat the brush with and maybe a fall every so often. I have a chainsaw collection too of older poulans(2)/ homelites(1) / mc collok eager beavers(4) i picked up at tag sales and the town dump. I'm pondering fixing one or buying a new one. One of my eager beavers with a 9'' bar just needs a new gas line which i already have here. I really don't want to drop another $200+ in a chainsaw i'd rather spend under $100 if i can. I have an older poulan that needs assembly of the starter/pull housing, it came with the new place. I guess i'm just getting old and lazy. I been looking at a new husqvarna 395xp so my sons can log my place in vt easier. I have well over 80 years of virgin timber to thin out.

I grabbed a poulan wild thing at the dump that the side plate adjustment broke a hole thru the cover near the bar adjustment nuts. I put a larger flat plate to hold the bar adjustment ingaged to the bar and it holds and cuts decent for what it is. I gave it to my son to keep at his house. People just throw this stuff away and it sill still run with a few fixins.

Since i make up my own saw chain loops i'd like to stay with the size saw chain i have on hand. One other problem i have is i use 50:1 two stroke mix in the husqvarna saws which i always have on hand. So i need a saw that can use this mix too. I would just like something around 32cc's that i can start easily. (saying this quietly my arthritis is getting worse) I'm starting to have a hard time starting the larger saws on somedays.

During my search i found the battery operated chainsaws, a few years ago i got the misses an electric powered chain saw for her to trim the bushes and shrubs. While browsing i found remington now offers an 18vt rechargable chain saw now too. This would be great for her because no extention cord is needed. I'm going to give her an upgrade she can't refuse.

I'm technically misunderstood at times i guess its been this way my whole life so why should it change now.

I have a couple Eager Beavers and they were re-cons--(nothing wrong with that) they are easier to start than the mini saws(all brands included here) also have had 4 Homelite super-xl saws (once again easy to start)---I was just given a stil 250 that had to have complete fuel system rebuild and its the hardest D thing to start on planet earth!!!---gotta switch plugs if you shut it off or it will not restart,---very hard on sore hands!!--short pull and just not safe for us old farts to have to contend with!---the stil cuts (if and when you finally get it started) probably faster than other saws----I like to run it, just getting it started is the big issue with it!----I got to run a stil 290 last week AFTER the owner started it and handed it to me ---a very nice cutting saw, so as far as the max saws I have never heard of such beast,--cant offer any honest evaluation on that brand! thanks; sonny

I have a bushel of eager beavers to be repaired when i get time but i just bid on sleezebay for more for parts. I found the eager beavers with the 9'' bar a great saw to carry on the quad when were deep in the woods to keep the trails open. When i had the quad we did 100 miles a day off road but really 50 miles because the quad was in the air the other 50miles spinning the wheels. doing nac-nac's i liked jumping getting air.

I figure with all the cheap eager beavers and so many quad owners i could corner the market someday on chainsaws for quads???

The stihl's are all torque while the husqvarna's are all speed and rpm's. I raced an stihl 032 with my husqvarna 240 40cc and beat it. He was half way thru the 12'' log when i started and we came out the bottom together. Back in the day i did all the local fairs in speed cutting and have many trophy's and ribbons for winning each class. My fastest cut was with a 100cc husqvarna saw i did 8 cuts in 17.5 seconds in a 9x9 timber. Thats 6 straight cuts 3 down/ 3 up and boring two holes in without breaking out. I was in my prime loggin back then. The crowd would go wild.

I'm technically misunderstood at times i guess its been this way my whole life so why should it change now.

[quote="SONNY"]I was just given a stil 250 that had to have complete fuel system rebuild and its the hardest D thing to start on planet earth!!!---gotta switch plugs if you shut it off or it will not restart,---very hard on sore hands!!--short pull and just not safe for us old farts to have to contend with!---

If your 250 is hard to start it needs looked at. I have one and work with 3 others and they all take 4 or 5 pulls on choke and 2 or 3 after it tries. If plug is fouling out, look for a plugged or partially plugged muffler. Dont ask. Grump